Playing vs. an SEC team is always a good measuring stick for a team. Even an SEC team that canned its head coach, as Mark Richt was fired and is now coaching Miami (FL). [ MORE: BOWL SCHEDULE | BOX | PBP | AP RECAP ] These iconic programs last met in the Sugar Bowl after the 1982 season, when Penn State dumped Heisman winner Hershel Walker and the Bulldogs to win the national championship. The stakes weren’t nearly that high today in a clash that often resembled a taffy pull between teams that played good defense—and spotty offense. The

There were six Big Ten men’s basketball games on Saturday, five of which were on BTN/BTN2Go. [ MORE: Catch up on all of today’s games on our Big Ten scoreboard ] Iowa highlighted the slate with an incredible 70-63 comeback win over Purdue. In other Big Ten action: Michigan rolled Penn State, 79-56, to move to 2-0 in Big Ten play, Wisconsin dropped Rutgers, 79-57, to hand Greg Gard his first Big Ten victory, No. 1 Michigan State picked up an impressive 69-61 win at Minnesota, Indiana topped Nebraska, 79-69, and Maryland cruised by Northwestern, 72-59. See the day’s full

LSU coach Les Miles was impressed by the defense of Wisconsin coordinator Dave Aranda when the Tigers edged the Badgers in the 2014 season opener. Now Aranda will have a chance to see if he can replicate his recent success in the Big Ten with Miles' LSU squad in the Southeastern Conference.

Michigan star guard Caris LeVert will miss Saturday’s game vs. Penn State due to a lower left leg injury, the team announced a couple hours before today’s noon ET tip. [ MORE: Watch Penn State at Michigan on BTN2Go ] “Caris will miss today’s game and his future status will be determined on a day-to-day basis,” Michigan coach John Beilein said in a team release. “We hope to know more this upcoming week as he continues with his treatment.” LeVert, a preseason All-Big Ten honoree, is averaging 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists this season; he registered his first

Wanted: Recent college grad for a job that involves working with very large and somewhat scary-looking birds. Position entails having to more or less live outdoors. Some perks included, but pay comes out to less than minimum wage. The job market may be tough right now, but it’s probably safe to say that most college graduates wouldn’t rush to send off their CV in response to a job listing like that. Then again, most college grads aren’t Alyssa Davidge. This Penn State alumna landed the interesting gig described above right after her recent graduation. She works long hours to help

This time last year, Iowa was getting scortched by Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl to cap a disappointing 7-6 season that set in motion an offseason of tumult. Kirk Ferentz examined his program and made alterations, including switching practices from afternoon to morning. But most prescient, Ferentz tabbed C.J. Beathard the QB over Jake Rudock shortly after the loss to the Vols. Rudock transferred to Michigan, Beathard became a star and the rest is history. [ MORE: BOWL SCHEDULE | AP RECAP | BOX | PLAY-BY-PLAY ] The Hawkeyes went on to post a season for the ages, going 12-0

Jim Harbaugh closed out his first season as Michigan’s head coach on quite a high note. Senior quarterback Jake Rudock threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns, while the Wolverines’ defense held Florida to just 273 yards of total offense in a commanding 41-7 win over Florida. Here is a look at some final thoughts from Michigan’s impressive victory. BEST OF THE CITRUS BOWL Best play: There were several good ones, but let’s go with Jehu Chesson’s impressive 45-yard catch late in the third quarter. Chesson’s highlight grab set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Sione Houma, which made it

There was an interesting political/sports tweet Friday that received plenty of attention leading up to the 2016 Rose Bowl Game. [ MORE: Check out the complete 2015-16 bowl schedule ] Carly Fiorina, a 1976 Stanford graduate and candidate for the Republican nomination for president, tweeted that she was rooting for Iowa in the Granddaddy of them All. Odd, right? Not when one looks at the calendar and realizes the Iowa caucus, the first official voting in the presidential primary electoral process, will be held Monday, Feb. 1. Surely, there’s no correlation.

Would Ohio State have a letdown, they wondered? [ MORE: BOWL SCHEDULE | AP RECAP | BOX | PLAY-BY-PLAY ] Not a chance. The reigning nation champ showed no signs of a hangover after missing out on the second annual College Football Playoff, looking impressive en route to a 44-28 victory over Notre Dame on Friday in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. BEST OF THE FIESTA BOWL Best play: This one came from the losing team, but the DeShone Kizer-to-Chris Brown touchdown pass in the third quarter was a thing of beauty. The pass was on the money, and the catch was